Carl M. Williams

Carl M. Williams is one of the founding fathers of the cable industry. This third generation Wyoming native and longtime Denver resident has influenced elements of Western business and education.

Carl was born in 1928 to a ranching family in Douglas, Wyoming. He completed two undergraduate years at the University of Wyoming and another two at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In the proud family tradition of military service, including service by his three brothers and father in World War II, Carl joined the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard in 1952. He served six years as a fighter pilot while simultaneously earning his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming.

After graduation from law school, Carl became a founding partner of Daniels and Associates, now a leading firm in financial services to media, internet and telecommunications industries worldwide. Carl's ventures in the cable industry continued as he built several cable television systems in Wyoming. In 1957 he founded Televents, Inc., a Colorado-based cable television company that he expanded into California, Wyoming, and Florida. The company merged with Western Telecommunications Inc., and was purchased by TCI in the late 1980s. Williams is now president of Carl M. Williams & Associates.

Carl has also been active in politics, philanthropy and education. He was elected to a term in the State Senate in 1968 and served as Chairman of the State Senate Affairs Committee. He served as the Chairman of the GOP State Committee in 1975 and 1976. He has served on the Governing Council of Denver's Community Colleges and the governing boards of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, the Mountain States Legal Foundation, the National Cable Television Center, and the Foundation for Drug Education, which he founded in 1989.

Carl's philanthropic efforts at the University of Wyoming and the University of Denver are designed to advance the discussion of ethics. He is a fierce defender of the free enterprise system and its ethical operation. Carl is a member of the University of Denver Board of Trustees and is the benefactor of the Carl M. Williams Institute of Ethics and Values, established in 1998 at the university.

In addition to his endeavors in business, politics and philanthropy, Carl has been flying for most of the last 53 years. His lifelong passion for flight includes helping create the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, which awarded him the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. He also serves on the Experimental Aircraft Association Board of Trustees, belongs to the Antique Aircraft Association, and flies a vintage Eaglerock airplane.

Carl was designated a Distinguished Alumnae by the University of Wyoming. He was also the 1996 Honoree of the Rocky Mountain Arthritis Foundation and in 1997 he was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.